Ah, the life of a ref. As you came here for something completely different, I will not elaborate.

"Welcome, one and all Smogonites, Blisseys and Gallades, to today's CAP ASB match! Today, we see DarkSlay, recently a battle veteran, and newcomer Its_A_Random-even though there was nothing really random about that statement. DarkSlay started out by throwing down this challenge-"

fat DarkSlay said:

SEEKING BATTLE

1 V 1SinglesDQ: 3 Days2 Recovery/Rest moves and 5 chillsArena:

Desert Oasis (Day)

This oasis is used as a refuge for thirsty, weary travelers traversing the hot desert. This arena features a small pool of water in the center surrounded by a handful of tropical trees and a small grass patch surrounding the body of water. The oasis is surrounded by a vast sandy desert with no obstacles in sight. The sun is quite bright, but the oasis makes the surrounding area fairly comfortable for all Pokemon. However, it's nearly impossible to set up a Rain or Hail storm in this hot desert during the day. The ground is made up of a pliable sand material, meaning that Pokemon can Dig here.

Click to expand...

Shortly after, Its a Random picked the challenge up, issuing his own terms to the battle:

fat Its_A_Random said:

DarkSlay, I'll take you on.
Switch=KO (This is irrelevant anyway...)
One Ability
No Items

Click to expand...

An interesting setup-of course, what's the battle without Pokemon? Here are each group's team: (and yes, I'm supposed to put up the whole thing despite this being a 1v1 match...)

DarkSlay's Team(Move your mouse to reveal the content)DarkSlay's Team (open)DarkSlay's Team (close)

Abilities:Sniper: (Innate) This Pokemon has deadly accuracy and strikes sensitive points, dealing 2 more damage with its critical hits.Battle Armor: (Innate) This Pokemon’s thick armor prevents it from taking critical hits.Keen Eye (DW): (Innate) This Pokemon has extremely good vision and cannot have its accuracy lowered by any means. Its attacks are still affected by an opponent’s evasion.

Type: Psychic / WaterPsychic: Psychic STAB; less susceptible to blinding, more susceptible to sound-based assaults as far as locking on with Psychic attacks, can lift and throw opponents with Psychic attacks regardless of weight difference, Disable, Focus Blast and Recover have Energy Cost reduced by one (1). Psychic-type attacks are not godlike and cannot be used as a catchall for Disabling, Binding, and redirecting opposing attacks.Water: Water STAB; Can breathe and have excellent mobility when underwater, are less capable on land unless they are entirely amphibious. Splash and Ice Moves have Energy Cost reduced by one (1).

Stats:

HP: 100
Atk: **(-)
Def: **** (+)
SpA: **
SpD: **
Spe: 15

EC: 1 / 4MC: 0DC: 1 / 5

Abilities:Oblivious: (Innate)This Pokemon is incapable of being effected by Attract or Cute Charm.Own Tempo: (Innate) This Pokemon moves at its own pace and cannot be confused by any method.Regeneration (DW): (Innate) When this Pokemon is switched out during a switch battle, it reacts to the energy in the Pokeball and 10 HP is restored.

Abilities:Guts: (Innate) This Pokemon is tenacious and will work ever harder when under a status condition, raising the base attack power of all its physical attacks by two (2). Pokemon with Guts ignore the attack drop from burn.Sheer Force: (Can be Enabled) This Pokemon can energize all its attacks with secondary effect chances less than 100%. When Enabled, the Base Attack Power of every move with an effect chance less than 100% increases by two (2), but they will never have a secondary effect. Iron Fist (DW): (Innate) This base attack power of this Pokemon’s “Punch” attacks is increased by two (2). (Known attacks effected: Bullet Punch, Comet Punch, Dizzy Punch, Drain Punch, Dynamicpunch, Fire Punch, Focus Punch, Hammer Arm, Ice Punch, Mach Punch, Mega Punch, Meteor Mash, Shadow Punch, Sky Uppercut, Thunderpunch)

Abilities:
Sand Stream: (Innate) When entering into battle, this Pokemon summons a massive Sandstorm that does not end, expending 10% of its energy to do so. The flying gravel and rocks of Sandstorm will do two (2) damage per action to Pokemon that do not have hard bodies (Rock, Ground, and Steel-types) or the Sand Veil, Sand Force, or Sand Rush Abilities.

Sand Force (DW): (Innate) This Pokemon thrives in Sandstorm conditions, using the power of the swirling sand to augment its Rock, Ground, and Steel-typed attacks. Each of this Pokemon's Rock, Ground, and Steel-typed attacks will have two (2) added to their Base Attack Power. Pokemon with this ability are immune to Sandstorm damage.

Sand Veil: (Innate) This Pokemon is used to reacting in desert conditions and gets a 20% evasion boost during Sandstorms. Pokemon with this ability are immune to Sandstorm damage.

Immunity (DW): (Innate)This Pokemon’s body has an immensely strong immune response to venom and does not take poison damage when Poisoned. Toxic Poisoning will not do damage, however it will continue getting more severe.

You might recognize that Slowpoke from an earlier battle I reffed-but enough of that. On with the battle: DarkSlay, you post which Pokemon you will use, and what ability it will use. Then, Its_A_Random will post which of his own mons he's going to use, what ability it will use, and what his actions will be. Then DarkSlay will post his reaction. Finally, I post the first round. After that we will alternate each round between Its_A_Random and DarkSlay going first.

Start by using Swords Dance! That will boost your attack high enough to negate your stat differences. Then, I want you to spin around rapidly, making a strong Whirlwind to blow away those Agility and Swords Dance boosts, while also making it greatly confused! He might hit himself for damage on the third turn. Then, finish off the round with Poison Jab! Hopefully you'll be able to seep in some of that poison, giving him some extra damage each turn.

"Interesting foes-I thought for sure DarkSlay would send out Salmon the Slowpoke: type advantages are always a nice thing. But enough of my musings, let's get this started!"

"Both parties seem a bit quiet right now-they're facing each other but not hitting yet at the oasis' banks. Capers starts the battle by relaxing its body, doubling its speed with Agility. Splinter, however, seems a bit more tense- it's whetting its pincers and tail, then testing them like a dance of swords!"

Capers responds with its own Swords Dance-it's whetting its claws while spinning at a nearby palm tree at its trainer's orders. Splinter, however...grows impatient. It spins rapidly-the Whirlwind picks up the Gligar, who is blown backwards by his gliding wings- and launches him into a nearby tree. He hits the tree's trunk hard-a good bit of damage was dealt, and tired, his claws look like they've been blunted back to standard state.

Frustrated its work had been for naught, Capers summons a barrage of rocks-they slide towards the Skorupi before it can dodge-and they barrage Splinter's delicate skin. Chirping angrily and leaping over the rocks, Splinter rushes Capers, tail glowing with a mysterious poison. It jabs Capers repeatedly, trying to get the poison rushing in-and despite the Gligar's thick Ground-type hide and very strong defense, it works! Capers is Poisoned, and he sits down, waiting for further orders from his trainer.

Splinter, satisfied its efforts have gotten its foe weakened, also awaits its trainer's orders.DarkSlay, you give your orders first next round!

Hm...looks like Whirlwind didn't confuse Capers like it was supposed to...but good job on Poisoning Capers, Splinter! You're taking some damage, so I want you to do a few things this round that should help you avoid damage!

Above all, I want you to climb one of the nearby trees, so that you have somewhat of a good vantage point and to make throwing rocks at you much harder. When you hit the top, fire off a Confuse Ray at Capers! If it tries to boost, use Whirlwind!

Then, once again, use Swords Dance, and then lastly a Poison Jab!

So:Confuse Ray on top of tree -> Swords Dance -> Poison Jab
OR IF HE BOOSTS ON FIRST TURN
Whirlwind on top of tree -> Swords Dance -> Poison Jab

Capers is confused-and it's not from last round's Whirlwind. Of course, Splinter isn't doing so well either, as he has just had sand thrown in its eyes. Capers had just Sand-Attacked Splinter-who despite the vision loss managed to successfully confuse Capers with a small ray or two of ghastly power. The confusion is pretty deep-it'll last a few turns.

Capers, a bit too confused for its own good, accidentally smacks its head while trying to perform another Sand-Attack-oh, and it's still feeling the effects of that Poison Sting. Splinter calmly whets his claws against each other, dancing around in the sand to polish its claws until they shine like swords. This Gligar seems bizarrely pathetic for something that resists its strongest moves.

Rather annoyed at himself, the still-confused Gligar manages to start pulling himself together-he barely manages to send another barrage of sliding rocks to launch at Splinter! Skorupi is ticked-how the heck did that guy launch that off without falling flat on its face? Angered, Splinter ignores the sand in his eyes and dashes over to Gligar again-and delivers a force-packed Poison Jab at Capers. Still too confused to dodge, the Gligar is smacked by the attack. Thankfully for Capers' sake, it isn't very effective.

Even though he's more than wishing for its Dream World ability, Capers shakes his head clear of any remaining confusion and awaits his trainer's orders. Splinter is starting to have fun with this match-but he knows he also has to stay with his trainer on this.
Its_A_Random will call his orders next. End results of round 3:

Okay, time to get creative here. If my opponent is going to adapt to my strategies, I'm going to have to counter-counter-strategy (lol) this one. Let's go Splinter!

Splinter, it seems that Capers is deathly afraid of your Confuse Rays. In that case, let's set up a perfect opportunity to score a hit with one! First, I want you to give Capers your Scary-est Face! That should not only halve its speed making you faster, but make his agility almost non-existent (like an anti-Agility, per the description of Agility). This will make it impossible to get behind you, since it's so slow. He's also going to be burning through a lot of energy with these repeated moves!

You should now be moving first. As it attempts to get behind you, I want you to walk backwards as it approaches you: it's so slow and clunky, you should be able to keep yourself in front of it at all times. Use Confuse Ray now! This should hit scotch-free, and it will also bait a weaker Night Slash.

After Confuse Ray hits, I want you to use a slightly boosted (+1) Bite! Combined with confusion, this should make it very hard to fire off that last Rock Slide with the added flinch rate. If for some reason/miracle you didn't confuse Capers, just use Poison Jab!

Oh, and if Capers somehow gets lucky on the first Rock Slide and Flinches, use Acupressure and see what boost you can get!

"Capers, noting how effective its previous tactics were, launches another barrage of rocks(lide) to punch through Splinter with. Climbing out after failing to dodge the attack, Skorupi gives Gligar a VERY scary face!"

...Are you sure I should show this? Alright...

Warning: May be NSFW due to its raw SCARE value. Do you wish to read this? I'm warning you...oh alright. You're paying the psychiatrist once this is over.(Move your mouse to reveal the content)Warning: May be NSFW due to its raw SCARE value. Do you wish to read this? I'm warning you...oh alright. You're paying the psychiatrist once this is over. (open)Warning: May be NSFW due to its raw SCARE value. Do you wish to read this? I'm warning you...oh alright. You're paying the psychiatrist once this is over. (close)

...Anyways, back to the match-Capers is reasonably terrified by the eldritch abomination known as the MSPaint scary face, so much that it's having trouble moving as quickly!

Splinter immediately takes the initiative, launching a Confuse Ray at Capers, who is too horrified by what it has seen to dodge! It's a pretty deep confusion-after all, Capers is still mortified by the horror within the above hide tags. Unable to evade, the Gligar feebly attempts to Night Slash Splinter-but he sees the abominable face again and falls over, clutching its head in pain. Something about this causes Capers to become slightly more relieved in its confusion.

Either way, Splinter is still calling the shots-and one of those shots is yet another Poison Jab at Capers! And-HOLY SHIT IT'S A CRITICAL HIT! Looks like out FlyScorpion friend was still too aghast to dodge, and Skorupi takes full advantage! Capers managed to pull itself together, however, and use Rock Slide successfully. He has managed to cope with what he has seen-and he is no longer confused about his objective. He's still a little scared, though-though he's sane enough to obey the orders of his trainer.

Splinter is ticked that its ruse did not come to fruition-but nevertheless, it awaits its trainer's orders. DarkSlay orders first this round-and he may keep Weegeescorp for further trolling.

Also, it appears that a slight oversight was made in the reffing-Gligar technically has Hyper Cutter and cannot have its attack reduced, yet Whirlwind worked against its Attack boosts. No retroactive changes-but I'm now going to allow the somewhat-behind Capers to maintain its Attack boosts if it's Whirlwinded. Nevermind, Deck hath spoken and Whirlwind does eliminate boosts altogether in Switch=KO/1v1.

(And lastly...DarkSlay, is it okay if you please update my match with Plusle?)

<DarkSlay> If I use Whirlwind on a Pokemon that has Hyper Cutter (after it uses SD), does that count as a "stat reduction", or simply eliminating the boost?<Deck_Knight> Eliminating the boost.<Deck_Knight> Whirlwind trumps Hyper Cutter, just like it would in Switch = OK.

So, Gligar would lose its Attack bonuses with Whirlwind, since Whirlwind isn't a stat reducing move, but a "pHazing" move even in Switch = KO. Just to clear that up.

Anyways, I'll take my turn now:

Okay, Splinter, wonderful round! You should still be faster than Capers, so I want you to set off another Confuse Ray! Don't give it time for it to dodge it, since you're faster.

Follow that up with a Swords Dance, and then a Poison Jab!

If Capers is still confused from the first round (not sure if you meant 4 or 6 turn confusion), then use Scary Face -> Swords Dance -> Bite!
So:

Moderator

Alright Capers, Time to retreat,keep as far away as possible while it launches Confuse Ray, giving you ample time to dodge it, after it misses, raise your attack with Swords Dance, & as it comes after you with its Stinger, deliver a +2 Rock Slide & try to flinch-hax it.

As Capers is still slightly in shock over Weegeescorp, Splinter leads off by firing a beam of mysterious light at it-a ray of confusion. Capers is far too resilient, however-he sees the beam coming, keeps his distance, and dodges the mind-boggling beam in stride.

Both parties then choose to whet their claws against the trees, before spontaneously dancing in the sands. A Magikarp looks at them curiously from the oasis-their claws are growing as polished as swords.

Growing tired of affairs, Splinter launches itself into another Poison Jab at Gligar-and Gligar is also getting tired from all the poisons. Nevertheless, it is strong enough to deliver a potent Rock Slide right back at Splinter-and it stings it far harder. Not only that, but Capers has finally realized Weegeescorp for the stupid made-in-fifteen-minutes MSPaint sham that it is-it regains the last of the speed lost from trying to forget about it. As both insects start to breathe more heavily, they await their trainers' orders.

Moderator

Alright Capers, endgame time. Triple Rock Slide here we go! Or if he tries to either 1. Whirlwind our boosts away or 2. try to confuse us, then feebly dodge it & Night Slash it from behind. If it tries to use Scary Face, then look away & Earthquake it.

Okay Splinter, things might seem grim, but we're not done here yet! We've been saving one more trick up our sleeves, and I'd say it's about time we used it!

Splinter, use Dig on the first turn! Hopefully that will avoid the Rock Slide, but you should have enough HP to survive the hit anyway.

Then stay under until your next action and dig around so that Capers doesn't know where you are - that should make the last two Rock Slides miss, while also conserving your energy a bit (only takes four energy). Not only that, but because Capers is going to use four Rock Slides in a row, it should lose 42 energy this round! (Energy increases by 4 per uses, so it should be 10 - 14 - 18) It's depleted of all its energy! It needs to chill to start the next round, and then can't fire off two Rock Slides in a row!

Since you're underground right before your last turn, spring up and surprise Capers with a Scary Face! It can't turn itself around if it doesn't know where you are, and the suddenness of the attack doesn't help it either! It can't EQ you either, since it moves first!

EDIT: Just found out some pretty big news:

<DarkSlay> I just depleted a Gligar of all its energy.<DarkSlay> And want to confuse it first, then Bite - Bite.<DarkSlay> lol<smashlloyd20> wait<smashlloyd20> is it completely out of energy?<DarkSlay> 0, yes. It should be exactly, actually.<smashlloyd20> then it faints<Alchemator> then it's dead<DarkSlay> lol<DarkSlay> I need to post that!

"Capers starts the battle with another fierce Rock Slide-a large mass of stones cascading towards Splinter. Splinter tries to roll out of the way, but fails to, nevertheless beginning to Dig into the sandsfrom underneath the rocks.

Capers, still thinking Splinter is underneath the rocks, launches more. It's taking a toll on him to find more rocks, but he soon realizes his mistake-and he notices a burrow beneath the rocks. As a Ground-type, he knows exactly what that means. The Skorupi lies beneath the sands in wait.

Capers is also a Flying-type, however, and he senses Splinter in the earth's movements when he begins to tunnel upwards. Knowing he has to act fast, the Gligar releases an emergency Earthquake all around the field. Palms sway erratically, water splashes on waves from the oasis, the rocks from earlier slide around again. From beneath the earth, Splinter is also shaken-but it isn't giving up! Bursting before Capers can look away, Splinter unleashes another Scary Face! Capers is metaphorically paralyzed by its raw strangeness. Splinter may be on its last legs, but it too is feeling doubtful. It fearfully awaits its trainer's orders.

Splinter is feeling regret that the plan failed to work as conceptualized. He nevertheless wishes to use his three remaining hitpoints in service to his trainer; he too awaits his orders.

Moderator

Does the movespam penalty apply across rounds? If I were to use Rock Slide the last turn of one round, then use it three times on the next, would the costs be 6+previous attacks in Round X, then 10, 14, 18 energy for the attacks in Round Y? Or does the movespam penalty reset after each round? (6 in round X, then 6, 10, 14 for the attacks in round Y.)

I've come into such a circumstance. While I've already made the call as being "it resets," I want to make sure on that.

Heavily weakened, Splinter starts off the match by using Confuse Ray against Capers-and although Gligar tries to dodge, it seems as though fate has given Splinter one last chance-Gligar is intensely confused by the attack, despite his attempts to dodge.

Emboldened by this stroke of luck, Splinter launches himself at Capers for one final Bite. Capers is struck-and when he tries to retaliate with an Earthquake, he hits himself instead. Splinter Bites again-but the damage is not nearly enough, it spite of the poison. Shaking its head as his confusion clears, Capers unleashes a final Earthquake around the arena.

Aye, good game Random. You're a good opponent, even if this looked close. I look forward to a rematch in the future. :)

I also want to thank Tortferngatr for the reffing job. You did a great job overall. However, I'm not entirely happy with how the last round went. I'm not entirely sure how Capers would be able to see into my thoughts (he certainly couldn't see me physically) and see a Scary Face coming, since I was underground. I'm not sure why Rock Slide was changed to EQ as a result. I understand the adherence to Random's precautionary changes, but in this circumstance, common sense should have prevailed. You are the referee, after all.

Also, I'm going to bring up a discussion about the clearance of the move counters. That cost me big time, and it seems like a bad rule. Not your fault, of course, but something that you brought up that needs to be looked into.

Regardless, good match, both of you.

EDIT: Tort, I will be getting to your match tomorrow. Psychology exam preparation's taking a bit more time than I thought. Sorry. No worries, though: Spring Break is near!

Moderator

Personally, this wasn't a great battle, also there will probably be some controversy coming out of this move spam thing. I honestly thought when DarkSlay commanded Splinter to use Dig, I honestly thought I had made a noobish mistake & seriously thought that it was another loss for me, guess I got lucky. I have to admit DarkSlay outplayed me for most of the match, & he deserved the win more, but I guess he got unlucky in the end.

I'm not the most patient of people & I was a little bit unimpressed with the waiting times between rounds, but that's just me. All in all, it wasn't that great, but I'll take the win. My first victory. Props to DarkSlay for being a great opponent, & Tortferngatr for being a great ref, despite the time issues. Next time me & DarkSlay meet, I suppose it will be a tougher battle, I'm still new to this, but it is great to get a win in the bag.

However, to answer DarkSlay's query about Gligar being unable to see Skorupi, keep in mind Gligar is Ground/Flying type-not only should he have been able to sense the digging using his Flying-type sense of earth vibrations (at least once he realized that Skorupi was underground,) but he's also a Ground-type and has some knowledge of how Skorupi would be moving. In short, he wouldn't have to see you to guess you're underground. (Scary Face I'll give you, though.)

My reasoning was more for it to be out of reflex/instinct-Scary Face was an excuse, and the reflex justified the EQ. While I admit that was kind of a bad call (and circular logic), I hope my thought process has explained why I made it.

(Also, note that despite this, I still allowed Splinter to get Scary Face in.)